General Dynamics to Make More Upgrades on USS Eisenhower

Perhaps eager to escape the Washington, D.C. heat for the weekend, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded only two contracts Friday -- and only one of those went to a publicly traded company.

This singularly lucky firm was General Dynamics . General Dynamics' National Steel and Shipbuilding Company subsidiary, NASSCO, was awarded an $82.5 million modification to an undefinitized contract to perform maintenance and upgrade work on the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower (CVN 69) while it is in dry dock. General Dynamics is expected to complete work on this contract by November 2014.

Originally built by Northrop Grumman -- now Huntington Ingalls -- the Eisenhower first launched in October 1975, was commissioned in 1977, and is expected to remain in service through at least 2025.